Andaman Islandshttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/taxonomy/term/8979/all
enMajor investment in Andaman ‘human safaris’ road sparks fears for tribehttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/20650
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<p>Plans for a major building project on an illegal road notorious for its 'human safaris' have been condemned over fears of its effect on the Jarawa tribe's protected reserve on India’s Andaman Islands.</p>
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<p>Plans for a major building project on an illegal road notorious for its “human safaris” to the vulnerable Jarawa tribe have been condemned by Survival International, the global movement for tribal peoples’ rights, over fears that it will lead to a massive increase in travellers through the tribe’s protected reserve on India’s Andaman Islands.</p>
<p>Andaman MP Bishnu Pada Ray, of the ruling BJP Party, recently announced the widening of the Andaman Trunk Road up to the Jarawa reserve, and the construction of two new road bridges.</p>
<p>The plans fly in the face of commitments by the Andaman administration to ease traffic along the controversial road by opening an alternative sea route by March 2015.</p>
<p>While the sea route would provide a cheaper, quicker and more comfortable journey, progress on its construction has stalled and officials recently revealed that there are no boats available for the new route.</p>
<p>Both the United Nations and India’s Supreme Court have called for the closure of the Andaman Trunk Road, which brings hundreds of vehicles through the Jarawa reserve on a daily basis, treating the Jarawa like safari attractions and disturbing the animals which they hunt for their survival.</p>
<p>The road project formed part of Bishnu Pada Ray’s election pledges ahead of the Indian general election in May 2014, which further included controversial promises to bring the Jarawa “into the mainstream” and to remove a protective buffer zone around their Reserve.</p>
<p>'Mainstreaming' tribal peoples without their consent is illegal under international law. The Great Andamanese, the Jarawa’s neighbours, were decimated following forced settlement and only 53 have survived.</p>
<p>Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today (15 July), “Whole populations of Andaman tribes have been wiped out since outsiders stole their land – the Jarawa are just the latest victims of this colonisation and they face catastrophe unless their land is protected. We can’t allow this self-sufficient tribe to suffer the same fate as their neighbours, who were decimated by disease and now depend on government handouts to stay alive. It’s time the illegal road was finally closed.”</p>
<p>[Ekk/4]</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Ecology and EnvironmentGlobalisation and DevelopmentRace and IdentityNews BriefAndaman Islandshuman safarisindiajarawaSurvival Internationaltribal peopleWorld NewsTue, 15 Jul 2014 10:42:35 +0000agency reporter20650 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukOne-year countdown to end ‘human safaris’ in Indiahttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/20242
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<p>Survival International has launched a one-year countdown timer to end ‘human safaris’ to the vulnerable Jarawa tribe on India’s Andamans Islands.</p>
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<p>Survival International, the organisation which campaigns for the rights of tribal people, has launched a one-year countdown timer to end ‘human safaris’ to the vulnerable Jarawa tribe on India’s Andamans Islands.</p>
<p>The Andaman authorities pledged to introduce an alternative sea route by March 2015, in order to take tourists off the illegal road that cuts through the reserve. At the moment, hundreds of tourists travel through the Jarawa’s forest every day.</p>
<p>But environmental clearance for the sea route has not yet been granted – making it increasingly unlikely that the March 2015 deadline will be met.</p>
<p>It has been over two years since the human safaris scandal, exposed by the Observer newspaper and Survival, sent shockwaves around the world, yet the safaris still continue. Many of the tourists passing through the Jarawa reserve along the illegal road are intent on spotting a member of the tribe – treating them like animals in a zoo.</p>
<p>Time is running out for the Jarawa, who are extremely vulnerable to exploitation by intruders on their land, as demonstrated by the recent shocking revelations of the kidnapping and sexual exploitation of Jarawa women by poachers. (<a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/20105" title="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/20105">http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/20105</a>)</p>
<p>The Jarawa’s neighboring tribes, the Great Andamanese, were decimated by forced settlement and diseases introduced by British colonizers. The Jarawa could face a similar fate if their rights to their land continue to be violated.</p>
<p>The United Nations, India’s Minister of Tribal Affairs, and Survival have all condemned the ‘human safaris’, and more than 7,000 supporters have pledged not to visit the Andaman Islands until tourists are banned from the road and an alternative route is put in place. (<a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18347" title="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18347">http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18347</a>)</p>
<p>Survival has written to India’s Environment Minister Veerappa Moily, urging him to approve the alternative sea route as a matter of urgency, and appealed to the Islands’ Lieutenant Governor A K Singh to ensure the alternative route is in place by March 2015.</p>
<p>Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said, "The Andaman Islands are now inextricably linked to this embarrassing saga, and since next to nothing has been done to provide an alternative route to the road, there’s no sign of the debate ending soon. It’s a year since the Andamans promised the Supreme Court to have a sea route put in place by March 2015, but the pledge is looking increasingly meaningless. The authorities must stick to their self-imposed deadline. The future is bleak for the Jarawa if not."</p>
<p>[Ekk/4]</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Ecology and EnvironmentGlobalisation and DevelopmentRace and IdentityNews BriefAndaman Islandshuman safarisindiajarawaSurvival Internationaltribal peopleWorld NewsWed, 05 Mar 2014 17:13:05 +0000agency reporter20242 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukRare first-hand testimony of Andaman tribe reveals exploitationhttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/20105
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<p>An extremely rare first-hand account of the shocking extent of sexual exploitation of young women of the Jarawa tribe on India’s Andaman Islands has emerged.</p>
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<p>An extremely rare first-hand account of the shocking extent of sexual exploitation of young women of the Jarawa tribe on India’s Andaman Islands has emerged.</p>
<p>In an audio recording obtained by Survival International, the organisation campaigning for the rights of tribal people, and reported by the British newspaper The Observer, a young Jarawa man reports that poachers regularly enter his tribe’s protected reserve and lure young Jarawa women with alcohol or drugs to sexually exploit them.</p>
<p>The young Jarawa man said, "The girls say, that the outside boys pressure them to do a lot. They pressure them with their hands and fingernails, when the girls get angry. They chase them under the influence of alcohol. They have sex with the girls… They drink alcohol in the girls’ house. They sleep in the Jarawa’s house. They smoke marijuana and then chase the girls."</p>
<p>He went on to list the names of poachers who come into their forest to sexually exploit the Jarawa girls.</p>
<p>The interview first appeared in the Andaman Chronicle, a local newspaper, which also reports an alarming increase in confrontations between the Jarawa and settlers who live around the edges of their reserve.</p>
<p>According to the reports, a group of Jarawa confronted a party of locals on a beach near the edge of the Jarawa reserve last weekend. It is believed that the Jarawa are seeking to punish those who had sexually exploited Jarawa girls.</p>
<p>Further reports emerged that a group of 60 settlers recently ventured to the edge of the tribe’s reserve with the intention of attacking the Jarawa community, who fled into the forest.</p>
<p>The 400-strong Jarawa are extremely vulnerable to exploitation, diseases and dependency on goods such as alcohol brought in by outsiders. The nomadic hunter-gatherers only started to come out of their forest without their bows and arrows and have friendly contact with their neighbors in 1998.</p>
<p>Today, hundreds of tourists travel through their land in the hope of spotting a member of the tribe, in what have become known as ‘human safaris’.</p>
<p>Sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS are a grave threat for recently contacted tribes such as the Jarawa, and women are commonly exploited by more powerful outsiders. The Jarawa’s neighboyrs, the Great Andamenese, were nearly wiped out by diseases including syphilis brought in by the British colonizers in the 19th Century, .</p>
<p>Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said, "It’s extremely disturbing to hear, directly from the Jarawa, how they are being exploited by unscrupulous outsiders and given alcohol and marijuana to lure and exploit Jarawa women. Not only are these substances being used to take sexual advantage of vulnerable women and girls, but they also risk creating a dangerous dependency which would be devastating for the tribe.</p>
<p>"It is essential that those responsible be prosecuted and that any officials who have colluded, or turned a blind eye to these activities, must also be investigated and punished".</p>
<p>[Ekk/4]</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Economy and PoliticsRace and IdentitySex and GenderNews BriefAndaman Islandsindiajarawapoacherssexual exploitationSurvival Internationaltribal peopleWorld NewsThu, 06 Feb 2014 09:33:49 +0000agency reporter20105 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukArrests over attenpt to manipulate members of Jarawa tribehttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/19220
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<p>Attempts by poachers to manipulate members of the Jarawa tribe in India’s Andaman Islands have backfired following swift action by the authorities.</p>
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<p>Attempts by poachers to manipulate members of the Jarawa tribe in India’s Andaman Islands have backfired following swift action by the authorities. Five poachers have now been arrested and face up to seven years in prison.</p>
<p>On 3 October, a story emerged in the Andaman press that a group of ten Jarawa had left the forest demanding to meet with the Lieutenant Governor of the islands. They reportedly demanded iron tools and food, claiming they were hungry because they weren’t given food by the authorities. They were quoted as saying, "We want our children to study in school, like children of Onge. We also want to become rich."</p>
<p>For many, these demands did not ring true, as the hunter-gatherer Jarawa have shown no sign of wishing to enter the mainstream. The motive behind their demands became clearer when a local leader, who had originally alerted the media to the story, told the Andaman Chronicle, "They want to come into the mainstream… There are so many uninhabited islands. Why can’t the Administration settle them in one of the islands? In this way the settlers will also be able to live in peace."</p>
<p>The administration responded swiftly and the following day a team was sent to investigate. They found that five people, who allegedly have a long history of poaching in the Jarawa’s forest, had entered the Jarawa’s reserve and apparently prompted the Jarawa to make these demands. The authorities also report that the suspects were found to have supplied alcohol to the Jarawa.</p>
<p>The five have been arrested and charged with violating the regulations that protect the tribe and their land. This carries a prison sentence of up to seven years.</p>
<p>The theft of the animals that the Jarawa rely on is a huge threat to the very existence of the tribe. The introduction of liquor to the Jarawa is also extremely dangerous. It could lead to a crippling dependency, not just on alcohol, but also on those from outside who can provide it. This would rob the Jarawa of their self-sufficiency – they have thrived on the islands for up to 55,000 years.</p>
<p>Survival Interational, the organisation which campaigns for the rights of tribal people, has long been calling for greater action against local poachers who remain a serious threat to the tribe. Survival’s Director, Stephen Corry has welcomed the swift action that the Andaman authorities have taken in this case and the message that it sends out to others who invade the Jarawa’s forest.</p>
<p>[Ekk/4]</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Economy and PoliticsRace and IdentityNews BriefAndaman IslandsindiajarawapoachersSurvival Internationaltribal landstribal peopleWorld NewsTue, 15 Oct 2013 08:04:30 +0000agency reporter19220 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukSurvival launches tourism boycott of India’s Andaman Islandshttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18347
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<p>Survival International has launched a tourism boycott of India’s Andaman Islands, until the degrading practice of ‘human safaris’ to the Jarawa tribe is stopped.</p>
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<p>The tribal rigfhts organisation Survival International has today (30 April) launched a tourism boycott of India’s Andaman Islands, until the degrading practice of ‘human safaris’ to the 400-strong Jarawa tribe is stopped.</p>
<p>Survival is calling on the 200,000 tourists visiting the islands every year to stay away until tourists are banned from the road through the Jarawa’s forest and an alternative sea route is put in place.</p>
<p>Survival has written to over 200 travel companies and websites in eleven countries urging them to stop their tours to the Andaman Islands, and will place advertisments targeted at tourists to discourage them from visiting the popular travel destination. Survival is also asking members of the public to pledge not to travel to the islands until the demands are met.</p>
<p>Hundreds of tourists from India and around the world travel along the illegal Andaman Trunk Road every day to ogle at members of the Jarawa tribe – treating them like animals in a safari park.</p>
<p>When asked how he felt when outsiders took pictures of him, Enmai, a young Jarawa, said, "I don’t feel good. I don’t like it when they take photos from their vehicles."</p>
<p>Earlier this year, India’s Supreme Court banned tourists from the road for seven weeks, reducing the traffic along the Andaman Trunk Road by two thirds. But the ban was lifted after the Islands’ authorities changed their own regulations in order to let the ‘human safaris’ continue.</p>
<p>The tours have been widely condemned both in India and around the world. India’s Minister for Tribal Affairs called them "disgraceful" and "an embarrassment", and last year, in response to a submission by Survival, the United Nations expressed their ‘deep concern’ about the ‘human safaris’ and called for the illegal road to be closed.</p>
<p>Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, "The Andaman government is arguing that the road is a necessary lifeline for the north of the islands. It’s nonsense: in fact there’s no reason for the road. The route by boat is faster, more convenient and cheaper for islanders, so providing an alternative sea route is better for locals, tourists, and the Jarawa alike. There will be no end to these degrading human safaris until tourists stop using the road, and we’ll continue the boycott until that happens."</p>
<p>[Ekk/4]</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Globalisation and DevelopmentRace and IdentityNews BriefAndaman Islandsindiajarawajarawam human safarisSurvival InternationalWorld NewsTue, 30 Apr 2013 09:08:01 +0000agency reporter18347 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukVictory for ‘human safari’ campaign as court bans touristshttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17862
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<p>India's Supreme Court has banned tourists from travelling along the road which cuts through a tribal reserve in the Andaman Islands</p>
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<p>Survival International’s campaign to stop ‘human safaris’ in India’s Andaman Islands has gained an important victory, after the Supreme Court banned tourists from traveling along the road which cuts through a tribal reserve.</p>
<p>Survival, the NGO which works for the rights of tribal people. has been campaigning for many years for the road through the Jarawa tribe’s reserve to be closed. It first alerted the world that tour operators were treating the Jarawa like animals in a zoo in 2010. Survival, and the Andaman organisation Search, had called for tourists to boycott the road.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court had ordered the local administration to close the road in 2002, but it has remained open.</p>
<p>The latest court order comes a year after the world was shocked by an international exposé of Jarawa women being forced to dance in exchange for food.</p>
<p>In July last year, India’s Supreme Court ordered the Andaman authorities to implement a Buffer Zone which was introduced to protect the Jarawa from exploitation by tourists. The Court explicitly ordered two tourist attractions – a limestone cave and a ‘mud volcano’ – to close. Tourists driving through the Jarawa reserve are ostensibly visiting the caves and volcano, although many will openly admit that the main attraction is seeing the Jarawa by the roadside.<br />
Despite the Supreme Court ordering the caves and mud volcano to close last July, tourists continued to travel along the Andaman Trunk Road to visit the attractions.</p>
<p>However, the Andaman authorities ignored this ruling and allowed the caves to remain open, as highlighted in a letter sent by Survival International to the judges of the Supreme Court earlier this month. In the letter, Survival accused the Andamans of committing a "serious and continuing contempt of court" through these "flagrant breaches", and appealed for the Supreme Court to take action.</p>
<p>Last week the Andaman administration attempted to circumvent the Supreme Court’s July ruling by announcing a watered-down version of the Buffer Zone. The new Buffer Zone would allow the limestone caves and mud volcano to remain open – and therefore for the human safaris to continue.</p>
<p>Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said, "This new interim order is positive, but it will be meaningless if the Supreme Court allows the Andaman authorities once again to ride roughshod over its ruling. It’s vital that the order is upheld and the human safaris end – the Jarawa themselves must decide if, when, and where outsiders traverse their land."</p>
<p>[Ekk/4]</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Ecology and EnvironmentRace and IdentityNews BriefAndaman Islandsindiajarawam human safarisSurvival Internationaltourismtribal peopleWorld NewsThu, 24 Jan 2013 09:45:18 +0000agency reporter17862 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukIndian islands challenge Supreme Court move to end ‘human safaris’http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16860
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<p>A ruling by India’s Supreme Court which would have curtailed ‘human safaris’ in the Andaman Islands is being ignored by the islands’ authorities.</p>
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<p>A ruling by India’s Supreme Court which would have drastically curtailed the notorious ‘human safaris’ in the Andaman Islands is being ignored by the islands’ authorities.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, India’s Supreme Court imposed a 5-kilometre buffer zone around the Jarawa Reserve, to help reduce the exploitation of the tribe by tourists.</p>
<p>The ruling puts an end to tourist resorts near the Reserve, and closes other commercial attractions such as the Islands’ mud volcano and limestone caves. However, more than two weeks on, the volcano and caves remain open.</p>
<p>Activists have welcomed the ruling as, even though it did not close the Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) running through the Reserve, it would significantly reduce the amount of traffic using it.</p>
<p>At least 250 vehicles use the road through the Reserve on a daily basis, and many are tour operators, transporting visitors from the south of the islands. Officially they are travelling to see the volcano and caves, but for many their real reason for taking the trip is for the ‘human safari’ en route.</p>
<p>If implemented correctly, India’s new buffer zone could reduce the amount of traffic on the ATR.</p>
<p>However, the Andaman administration is refusing to close the volcano and cave sites, having appealed for the Supreme Court to exclude them from its recent order.</p>
<p>The Andaman administration has now filed a plea to the Supreme Court for an eight-week suspension period so it can submit plans for a new buffer zone. It is believed that these will not include the cave and volcano.</p>
<p> Stephen Corry, Director of Survival International said , "The Supreme Court missed an opportunity by leaving the ATR open – the main artery to India’s ‘human safaris’. However the decision to close the caves and mud volcano is a positive step and would deny tour operators the chance to run human safaris by stealth. If the mud volcano and limestone caves remain open, hundreds of tourists will continue to drive through the reserve every day ogling at the Jarawa. The Andaman administration must demonstrate its commitment to ending these tours by closing the cave and volcano."</p>
<p>[Ekk/4]</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Globalisation and DevelopmentNews BriefAndaman Islandshuman safarisindiajarawaSurvival InternationalWorld NewsWed, 25 Jul 2012 09:13:12 +0000agency reporter16860 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukIllegal ‘human safari’ road still open 10 years after supreme court rulinghttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16614
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<p>A road at the centre of a ‘human safari’ scandal in the Andaman Islands is still open, exactly ten years after India’s Supreme Court ordered its closure.</p>
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<p>A road at the centre of a ‘human safari’ scandal in the Andaman Islands is still open, exactly ten years after India’s Supreme Court ordered its closure.</p>
<p>The Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) cuts through the reserve of the Jarawa tribe, and has been internationally condemned for facilitating their exploitation.</p>
<p>The practise of ‘human safaris’, in which tourists are promised the chance to ‘spot’ the Jarawa as if they were animals in a park, was first exposed by Survival, the NGO which campaigns for the rights of tribal people, in 2010.</p>
<p>The findings revealed how biscuits and sweets were thrown from vehicles on the road to lure the Jarawa closer.</p>
<p>Since then, the UK’s Observer newspaper has revealed how tourists and police have been caught entering the reserve to watch and film the tribe.</p>
<p>India’s Supreme Court ordered the Andaman administration to close the ATR in May 2002. The Islands’ authorities have refused.</p>
<p>Senior Survival campaigner Sophie Grig has flown to the Andamans to call for the road to be closed, and an alternative route established.</p>
<p>Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today (3 May), "The Andaman authorities might be putting measures in place to try to control the use of the road, but it is clear that these measures don’t get to the root of the issue. The fact is 250 vehicles are still entering the reserve on a daily basis. The only way of ensuring the Jarawa are free to choose their way of life for themselves is by closing this illegal road."</p>
<p>[Ekk/4]</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Community and FamilyGlobalisation and DevelopmentNews BriefAndaman IslandsindiajarawaSurvival Internationaltribal peopleWorld NewsThu, 03 May 2012 15:29:20 +0000agency reporter16614 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukUN urged to bring an end to "human safaris"http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16292
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<p>The United Nations have been urged to put pressure on India to bring an end to “human safaris” in the Andaman Islands.</p>
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<p>The United Nations (UN) have been urged to put pressure on India to bring an end to “human safaris” in the Andaman Islands. </p>
<p>Survival International made the call today (16 February), five years after the UN first called on India to close the Andaman Trunk Road (ATR), which is used for the 'safaris'.</p>
<p>The organisation says that India ignored the UN's call in 2007 to “implement the 2002 order of the Indian Supreme Court to close sections of the Andaman Trunk Road”. They say this allowed the exploitation of the Jarawa people to continue.</p>
<p>However, in recent months, a series of media articles in Britain have put the issue under international scrutiny.</p>
<p>Officials in India and the Andamans now face domestic and international pressure to stop the Jarawa falling victim to abuse on the road that runs through their reserve.</p>
<p>The importance of closing parts of the Andaman Trunk Road has received cross-party support from fifteen members of Parliament in the UK. Members of the European Parliament are also raising the issue with the European Union's Foreign Affairs Representative.</p>
<p>“As a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, issues like this are very important to me,” said UK politician Mike Crockart, “This is a matter of basic human rights. It is not right for anyone, anywhere to be treated like this. They are human beings and deserve to be treated as such.”</p>
<p>Survival has now written to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), as it meets in Geneva.</p>
<p>They have urged the UN to reiterate their call for the road to be closed, ten years after it was officially ordered to be shut by the Supreme Court.</p>
<p>“All eyes are on India and what it will do next,” said Survival's director, Stepehn Corry, “Closing the road is not about isolating the Jarawa, but upholding their right to control their own land and choose if, and how, they interact with outsiders.”</p>
<p>He added, “Far from meddling in India’s affairs, Britain, Europe and the UN’s concern shows the gravity of the situation, and the need to respect human rights by closing the road".</p>
<p>The public have been encouraged to use the Survival International website to send emails urging the Indian government to take immediate action to stop the “human safaris”.</p>
<p>[Ekk/1]</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Economy and PoliticsRace and IdentityNews BriefAndaman Islandshuman safarisindiaindigenous peoplesjarawaSurvival InternationalWorld NewsThu, 16 Feb 2012 23:47:24 +0000staff writers16292 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukUK MPs call for end to Andaman 'human safaris' http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16241
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<p>MPs in the UK have tabled a motion calling on the Indian Government to close the llegal road through the Jarawa tribe's reserve in the Andaman Islands.</p>
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<p>The ‘human safaris’ scandal in the Andaman Islands has reached the UK Parliament, with MPs tabling a motion calling on India to close the illegal road that cuts through the Jarawa tribe’s reserve. </p>
<p>Presented to the House of Commons by Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George, it calls for an end to recently contacted Jarawa being treated like attractions in a "human safari park".</p>
<p>It also appeals to the Indian government "to take immediate action to close the Andaman Trunk Road", which has been operating illegally since the Supreme Court ordered it closed in 2002.</p>
<p>It comes as the Observer newspaper released new videos proving police and army officials have been involved in ‘human safaris’ – despite the denials of the Andamans’ police chief.</p>
<p>One clip shows half naked girls being ordered to dance for a seated Indian police officer. An off-camera voice tells the girls to "move back a little, a little more". They are then told to "Do it", and they start dancing. </p>
<p>Survival International, the NGO which campaigns for the rights of tribal people, first exposed the scandal of human safaris in 2010, but international condemnation has grown in recent months, prompting India’s Home Minister to order an investigation.</p>
<p>The outcry has also reached members of the European Parliament in Brussels. </p>
<p>MEP Sir Graham Watson, Chair of the Parliament’s Delegation to India, has described the Jarawa’s exploitation as a "disgrace", and vowed to keep pursuing the issue with Indian officials. </p>
<p>Similarly, MEP Julie Girling has made her position clear by tweeting, ‘@Survival campaign to end Human Safaris and close The Andaman Trunk Road which currently cuts through the Jarawa Reserve.’</p>
<p>Survival International today (6 February) called on the public to write emails through its website urging the Indian government to take immediate action to stop the human safaris.</p>
<p>Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, "This new video released by the Observer shows current precautions by the Andaman authorities are not working. It’s time the government got to the root of the problem, which is the road: it must be closed."</p>
<p>[Ekk/4]</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Economy and PoliticsRace and IdentityNews BriefAndaman IslandsindiajarawaSurvival Internationaltribal peopleUK NewsUK parliamentMon, 06 Feb 2012 11:45:57 +0000agency reporter16241 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukSecret recording exposes 'human safaris' in the Andaman Islandshttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16058
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<p>A secret recording of a tour operator in the Andaman Islands has provided fresh evidence of the notorious “human safaris”, along with evidence of police collusion.</p>
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<p>A secret recording of a tour operator in the Andaman Islands has triggered renewed controversy over the notorious “human safaris”. Survival International said yesterday (12 January) that the tape shows that the “safaris” are still happening, and also provides new evidence of police collusion. (Police involved in Andaman Islands 'Human Safaris' <a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16015" title="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16015">http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16015</a>)</p>
<p>The tour operator was recorded telling an undercover journalist to provide 10-15,000 rupees (£120-180). The tape was recorded in December by journalist Gethin Chamberlain.</p>
<p>Asked how much a trip to see the Jarawa tribe would cost, the Port Blair-based tour operator says, “For the trip, uh, vehicle and… all like 25 to 30,000 like that. Because the policeman take 10 to 15 like that. And vehicle and some gift to the tribals also… like fruits, biscuits…”</p>
<p>Stung by the international outrage that has greeted these disclosures, some in the islands’ administration have claimed that the video was shot ten years ago, before precautions were put in place. But Survival International say that the recording “provides concrete proof that 'human safaris' are still occurring”. </p>
<p>The organisation first revealed the existence of the “human safaris” in 2010.</p>
<p>In response to the latest revelations, one of the leading experts on the Andaman Island tribes, Professor Anvita Abbi of Jawaharlal Nehru University, has said, “This happened in the knowledge of the authorities. How can the administration claim they have no knowledge of this?”</p>
<p>Survival International’s director, Stephen Corry, agreed. He said that the “safaris” were still taking place “because of the Andaman Trunk Road through the Jarawa reserve”. </p>
<p>He explained, “Ten years after the Indian Supreme Court ordered the road to be closed, it's shocking that the Andaman Administration is defying this order by keeping it open. The government could end human safaris today – by closing the road.”</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Globalisation and DevelopmentNews BriefAndaman Islandsindigenous peopleSurvival InternationalWorld NewsFri, 13 Jan 2012 00:34:40 +0000staff writers16058 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukPolice involved in Andaman Island 'Human Safaris' http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16015
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<p>The Observer newspaper has revealed evidence of police involvement in ‘human safaris’ in India’s Andaman Islands.</p>
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<p>The Observer newspaper has revealed evidence of police involvement in ‘human safaris’ in India’s Andaman Islands.</p>
<p>The scandal, first exposed in 2010 by Survival, the NGO which campaigns for the rights of tribal people, involves tourists using an illegal road to enter the reserve of the Jarawa tribe. Tour companies and cab drivers ‘attract’ the Jarawa with biscuits and sweets.</p>
<p>The Observer has obtained a video showing a group of Jarawa women being ordered to dance for tourists by a policeman, who had reportedly accepted a £200 bribe to take them into the reserve.</p>
<p>One tourist has previously described a similar trip: ‘The journey through tribal reserve was like a safari ride as we were going amidst dense tropical rainforest and looking for wild animals, Jarawa tribals to be specific’.</p>
<p>In recent weeks the Islands’ administration has again ruled out closing the road, known as the Andaman Trunk Road revealed for the first time that it plans to open an alternative route by sea to bypass most of the Jarawa reserve.</p>
<p>Survival has called for tourists to boycott the road, which the Supreme Court ordered closed in 2002. Working with a local organisation, SEARCH, Survival has distributed leaflets to tourists arriving at the Islands’ airport warning of the dangers of using the road.</p>
<p>Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, "This story reeks of colonialism and the disgusting and degrading ‘human zoos’ of the past. Quite clearly, some people’s attitudes towards tribal peoples haven’t moved on a jot. The Jarawa are not circus ponies bound to dance at anyone’s bidding."</p>
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<!-- google_ad_section_end -->Globalisation and DevelopmentRace and IdentityNews BriefAndaman IslandsindiajarawaSurvival Internationaltourismtribal peopleWorld NewsTue, 10 Jan 2012 09:16:34 +0000agency reporter16015 at http://www.ekklesia.co.uk